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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121367">Black and White with Hints of Green</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshlyman/pseuds/joshlyman'>joshlyman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Souls, Starkid didn't give Robert enough time to shine as Ethan so this is my way of dealing with it, The Black And White</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:06:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,184</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshlyman/pseuds/joshlyman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ethan Green may no longer be alive on Earth, but that certainly doesn't mean that he's dead. It just means that he's somewhere else, somewhere he doesn't recognize. Where's that green glow coming from? And who's giggling?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lex Foster/Ethan Green</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1 - Let's Go to the Mall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I changed the first chapter to give some more context, so if it looks different just know that what was originally the first chapter has been pushed back to Chapter 2.<br/>You can find me on tumblr at iammusicaltheatretrash :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ethan sat at the steering wheel of his car, watching the children enter Hatchetfield Middle School. His fingers tapped along to the song on the radio, some advertisement for a stupid kid’s toy or something. <br/>“He’s a wiggly wig and a snuggle poo! And a wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle<br/>Wiggle wiggle wiggle with you!”<br/>“Fuck that noise!” The radio was turned off and Ethan waited in silence, looking for Hannah. He’d promised Lex that he would get the kid to the mall today before opening so they could be ready for Operation Califor-M-I-A. Suddenly he saw a familiar girl walking by. Speak of the Devil and she shall appear.<br/>“Hey there, Banana.”<br/>“Ethan?” Hannah stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at him. Other students continued to walk past her, a few with fierce glares as she had gotten in their way. “Why?” Ah, so she was only responding with one word, great.<br/>“We’re gonna take a little trip together, how does that sound?”<br/>“Where?”<br/>“You know how Lex works at the toy store at the mall?” A small nod, which Ethan counted as a full victory. “Well, she wanted me to pick you up and bring you there for a little meeting. Here’s a hint, it’s about a very sunny state.” Suddenly Hannah’s face brightened and she grinned.<br/>“California!”<br/>“That’s right, Cali-fucking-fornia.” A woman walking with her young son clapped her hands over the boy’s ears and glared at Ethan.<br/>“Watch your language, young man! This is school grounds, there are children here!” Ethan gave her a sarcastic salute.<br/>“Sorry ma’am, just dropping my sister off.” The woman grumbled and continued on her way, the son giving Ethan a curious look before being dragged away. “Now c’mon Hannah Banana, we can talk more on the way.”<br/>“But school…”<br/>“You’re telling me you actually want to go to that hell hole?” Hannah’s pigtails swung as she violently shook her head back and forth. “That’s what I thought. Let’s split, kid.” He grinned as she stepped forward and opened the passenger car door. “There we go, just put that seatbelt on and close the door and we’ll be ready to go.” She slowly sat down and pulled the seatbelt over her chest, jolting when it clicked into the lock. “You okay?”<br/>“Loud.”<br/>“Sorry Banana, you know it’s an old car that makes a loud of weird noises.” Hannah nodded, looking down at the seatbelt lock. “Can you close the door?” Another nod. “Now get ready, there’s gonna be a loud noise when the door closes.”<br/>“Okay.”<br/>“Want me to cover your ears?”<br/>“Close.” Ethan sighed.<br/>“Okay, I’ll close it. But you have to work on this, Hannah.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the driver’s seat, coming around to the other side of the car. “Now cover your ears.” The car door slammed and he returned back behind the steering wheel.<br/>“Good?” Hannah yelled. Ethan gave her a thumbs up and she removed her hands from her ears. <br/>“Perfect! Let’s get going!” He pressed down the gas pedal and the car started to move away from the school, leaving the other kids behind. “So how was your morning?”<br/>“Bad.” Hannah continued to stare ahead.<br/>“Oh no, what happened? Didja have a nightmare or something?”<br/>“Yes.”<br/>“Well there has to be a reason for that, let’s figure it out.”<br/>“Green.”  <br/>“Green? What did you see, a vegetable?”<br/>“No name. Webby said evil.” Ah yes, Webby, Hannah’s imaginary spider friend. Ethan could only play along for so long. Luckily for him, the mall was only a few minutes away.<br/>“So Webby was in your dream? Did Webby help you?”<br/>“Webby died.” Hannah shivered and Ethan felt a strange chill run down his spine.<br/>“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But it was just a dream, so Webby’s still here, right?”<br/>“Yes.”<br/>“Tell Webby I say hello, then.”<br/>“She knows.” Oh, finally a gender reveal. Good to know he had an imaginary female spider chilling in his car.<br/>“Okay, here we are, Banana. Time to get out.” Hannah slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and then opened the car door, looking around her.<br/>“Not the mall.” She twitched, turning back to face Ethan who had turned off and locked the car.<br/>“Yes it is, just a different view then you’re used to.”<br/>“Why?”<br/>“We’re meeting Lex in a special place, somewhere you usually can’t go to.”<br/>“Toy Zone?” Ethan took in a deep breath and slowly breathed out, trying to keep his cool.<br/>“Yep, let’s go.”<br/>“I don’t know.”<br/>“C’mon, we gotta go see your sister. She’s got a special surprise for you!”<br/>“A surprise?”<br/>“Yeah, but you have to come with me to get it?”<br/>“Is it good? Or bad?”<br/>“Don’t worry, it’s all good.”<br/>“But the bad blood. Bad blood.” The girl started twitching, eyes going blank. “Two doors. Cross.”<br/>“Let’s go, we don’t have time for this!” He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the toy store. Hannah followed behind him, still muttering random words under her breath.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lex was standing in front of a large cardboard box, filled with what Ethan guessed was the stash of Tickle-Me Wigglys. She pulled out one of the toys, a green glow seeming to fill the air around it.<br/>“Hi Wiggly, I’m Lex. So you’re what all the fuss is about.” He watched as she tickled its belly, letting out a small smile. “Cute!” That was weird. The doll looked ugly from where he was. Maybe it was cuter up closer? “I think you’re gonna help me out a lot more than you know.” It was time for Ethan to make his move.<br/>“Mall security, we got a shoplifter, drop that doll!”<br/>“Jesus Christ, Ethan, you fucking asshole!”<br/>“Hey, come on, it was just a goof!”<br/>“Uh, where’s my sister?”<br/>“Oh no, Hannah?” Ethan widened his eyes as much as he humanly could. “Is that what you’ve been telling me every day for the past four weeks? To pick up your kid sister?” His hand flew to his heart as he mocked shock. “Oh, I must’ve forgot ‘cause I’m so stupid!” Lex punched his arm and Ethan laughed before pointing behind him. “She’s right over here, but I gotta warn you, she’s being a little snot today.” He walked over to the young girl and took her arm, slowly pulling her out of her hiding spot near the trash can. “Hannah! Ugh, come here. Do I gotta put a leash on you like a dog? Or my cousin Oliver?”<br/>“Okay, don’t pull her!” Lex cried, rushing over to her sister and knocking Ethan’s hand away. <br/>“I’m not!” Geez, he’d only be trying to help!<br/>“Hey Banana, is today a good day or a bad day?” The young girl was still twitching and Lex rubbed her shoulders <br/>“Bad day,” Hannah responded almost instantly, still staring down at the ground. <br/>“Well, I don’t know who told you that because today is a good day! You know my backpack, the one with the pins on it? Well today, you get to wear it!”<br/>“No.” Instant response. What was with this kid?<br/>“See what I mean? It’s been this, all day.” Ethan plopped down on a nearby cinder block with a huff.<br/>“Why don’t you wanna wear my backpack?” Lex pouted. Damn, how was that adorable and hot at the same time? “That makes me sad. Do you think I have a bad backpack?”<br/>“I’m not supposed to.”<br/>“Who says you’re not supposed to?”<br/>“Webby.”<br/>“Oh great, now we gotta talk to the imaginary spider from outer space.”<br/>“What does Webby say?”<br/>“Bad blood. Cross? Black and white?”<br/>“Can you translate?” Ethan stood up with a huff, glaring at Lex. “I don’t speak crazy!”<br/>“She’s not crazy!” Lex jumped up to face him, glaring right back. “She’s creative.” She let out a small sigh before going to grab her sister, forcing the backpack onto her. “C’mon Hannah, I don’t have all day for this.”<br/>“No!”<br/>“Okay, here. Lemme try, lemme try.” Suddenly an idea crossed Ethan’s mind, something so brilliant he didn’t realize he came up with it himself. Maybe he was smarter than they all thought. “Alright, Banana-split!” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a grey cap. “You see this hat? It was gifted to me by a great warrior.”<br/>“Pffff!” <br/>“Don’t you fucking laugh.” Lex shrugged and gave him a shit-eating grin that Ethan ignored, turning back to the wide-eyed little girl. “It’s imbued with the power of Greyskull to ward off dark magic, bad blood, backpacks, any fucking thing! Now,” At this point he dramatically stepped away from Hannah, breathing deeply. “I can lend you this hat, just for today. And while it’s on your head, well, nothing can harm you.”<br/>“Honest?”<br/>“Cross my heart . . . Hope to die.” Hannah slowly took the cap from him and placed it backward on her hand, brushing away the stray hairs that had broken free from her braids. As she put on Lex’s backpack Ethan turned to his girlfriend with a grin. “I’d make a great dad, I’m just saying!”<br/>“Okay,” Lex breathed out with a laugh as Ethan slung his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “You’re gonna watch her until I get off at noon, and then we’re out of this fucking town.” She glanced up at Ethan, pressing a hand on his chest. “Is everything good with the buyer?”<br/>“Oh yea, about that,” he pulled away from her, murmuring, “there’s been a little complication.”<br/>“Shit.”<br/>“So originally we talked about five. Well, word starts to get around, and before I know it, there is a bidding war for this thing!” Ethan pointed over at Hannah and the backpack while Lex continued to stare at him, still not fully comprehending what he was saying. “And we got somebody willing to pay seven.”<br/>“Huh? Seven hundred for a doll?”<br/>“No.” He laughed for a second before sobering up. “Seven thousand.”<br/>“Seven . . . thousand?? Seven fucking thousand dollars? We’re set! We’re set!” Lex threw herself into Ethan’s arms and he caught her effortlessly, grinning as they spun around laughing. “Hannah, do you know what this means?” Hannah’s eyes got bright as her sister came over to her, grinning like a maniac.<br/>“California?”<br/>“Cali-fucking-fornia! We’re finally getting away from that alcoholic bitch of a mom, Hannah!”<br/>“You’ve been helping her for too many years, Lex, it’s time for you and Hannah to get rid of her!” Ethan grabbed Lex’s waist and held her close. Hannah started jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas, pigtails bouncing all over the place.<br/>“We’re righteous babe. It’s going to be great in California, you’ll see it.”<br/>“I know, babe,” he murmured, nuzzling into her shoulder as she giggled.<br/>“Because we’re Califor-”<br/>“M.I.A.!” Hannah cheered.<br/>“M.I.A.!” Lex and Ethan shouted together with identical grins. Then Ethan sobered up.<br/>“Let’s be serious for a moment. It’s gonna be great! Not having to worry about money, not having to think about paying to smoke, weed’s legal there, who needs a job?”<br/>“I’ll be an actress!” Lex piped up, leaning against the wall and giving Ethan her best ‘model pose’. He dropped down to his knees, mimicking a camera. “That’s not how cameras work, babe.”<br/>“Get over here!” The energy between the pair as they went in for a kiss was too much and Ethan broke away, laughing as Lex slapped his shoulder. Hannah ran over to the two of them and they formed a small huddle, unable to stop smiling at each other.<br/>“We’re going to California,” the young girl murmured.<br/>“Fuck yeah we are! But first, we gotta send a letter.” <br/>“A letter?”<br/>“Dear Mom . . .” Lex pulled a crumpled up piece of paper out of her pocket and smoothed it out on a nearby box, grabbing a pen out of her jacket. “It’s been real - Real bad. I’d say you did your best, but I’m not a liar.”<br/>“Oh,” Ethan dropped down next to her, pointing at the words. “L-I-E-R, babe.”<br/>“We get it, Ethan, you’re a good speller!” He stuck her tongue out and she flipped him off right back before starting to write again. “I’m taking Hannah, as far away as we can get. I’d give you an address, but I don’t want to! Don’t write, don’t call, don’t ask. Sincerely, Lex. P.S. Get yourself a new trailer, ‘cause this one is-”<br/>“Broke as shit!” Ethan and Hannah chimed in, finishing the catchphrase they’d made up a few years back. Hannah began dancing around the parking lot and Ethan and Lex drew closer to one another. Lex took Ethan’s face in her hands and pulled him in, smiling into the kiss. After a few seconds of pure bliss, he opened his eyes and saw Hannah, bouncing around and - Is she pretending to smoke?<br/>“Hannah!”<br/>“Hannah! What the fuck is this?” Lex imitated her sister’s hand movements with a glare. “That better be fucking floss! Let’s go, I need a cigarette.” She took Ethan’s hand and he let her lead him away, Hannah trailing behind them.</p>
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